Divali was this past Friday night, with fun extending over the weekend. Pretty much every major town had their square or stadium set for a Divali party, with bands and all sorts of lights. The main decoration is lights - everywhere! My Hindi friends here on the island view this holiday as an important one, and in fact many feel that the Indians in Mauritius celebrate it more vigorously than they do in India. Lights, fireworks and the giving of sweets. Everyone gets dressed up in new saris and charudi, and the women all get henna painting - those arists are at little kiosks in the mall and will do designs for around 60 Rs. Again - no OSHA here, so the fireworks go off everywhere, and in any direction. All day Friday and Saturday people are visiting, bringing small boxes of sweets. We had two visits from our neighbors with sweets, and our regular vendors at the market gave us sweets on Saturday, too.
All of us Fulbighters got together at our house, and we walked to see the lights and the activities downtown. Here are some pictures:
On my way to buy bread on Friday morning you sawe many guys up on the roof finishing up the installation of the lights. Unlike Christmas lights they simply hang them in strings from the top of the house to the bottom, at about 2 foot intervals.
Our neighbors house on our street.
Around the corner from our house.
The decorations on the Quatre Bornes municipal building, which is right across the street from the market.
More decorations at the Municpal Building.
No comments:
Post a Comment